Europe suffers severe floods: how they are fought in Ukraine and abroad

Natural disasters are hard to predict, they always come right out of the blue. Therefore rescue operations of local authorities and actions aimed to prevent the destructive effects of natural cataclysms are really important. In terms of this the flooding which struck Central Europe last week turned out to be quite demonstrative. Unlike Odesa, where the disaster came unexpected, Europeans acted quite resolutely, quickly, and professionally, according to the plan of evacuation of people during the disaster they prepared beforehand. Partially this may be because Europe learns from its mistakes and remembers the analogical catastrophes of 2002 when the water caused three billion euros’ losses in Europe.

When last weekend the disaster struck the Czech Republic, the highest, third emergency level was announced immediately in 40 cities. Firefighters installed metal fences and sandbags for water protection. The Prague Post reported that two people died due to the flooding. Eight subway stations were shut down in Prague, roads were closed, and people were evacuated from the areas where the Vltava River reached the third emergency level. Schools and kindergartens were closed, too. According to Euronews TV channel, patients were evacuated from one hospital, as well as animals from the Prague Zoo. At the same time the flooding caused by rainfalls struck Bohemia, the historic part of the Czech Republic. Prime Minister Petr Necas called several urgent sessions for coordination of actions in the emergency situation. There the decision was approved that the power will allot over 10 million euros to fight the disaster. “I am afraid that the worst is in the future. All the structures work at full capacity. Nobody will be left face-to-face with the disaster,” TSN.ua quoted Necas as saying. At the same time, according to BBC, the Czech authorities hope that this year’s flooding won’t be as great as in 2002 when part of Prague was ruined. Seventeen people died that year because of the disaster.

Meanwhile, flooding caused death of two people in Germany, two people went missing and thousands were evacuated from the houses. “It was raining non-stop: the army was called to fight the flooding which became even greater,” read the heading to the publication about the flooding by German Der Spiegel. The periodical admits that the number of victims caused by high water has already reached as many as nine and “evoked sad recollections about the notorious flooding of August 2002.” On Sunday Bundeswehr soldiers joined the rescue teams in southern and south-eastern regions that suffered the most. Last weekend several cities and regions announced the state of emergency. The states of Bavaria, Thuringia, and Saxony suffered the most from the flooding. Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer said that this flooding may turn out to be the most destructive for the region. The highest official of Saxony Stanislaw Tillich cancelled his visit to Turkey due to the natural disaster. According to The Local, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that flood-stricken regions may expect “full support” of the federal authorities in fighting the high water. According to ITAR-TASS, the authorities of the city Goessnitz evacuated all city dwellers when the water level in the Pleisse River exceeded the norm by four times. At the same time, Gazeta.ru writes that the rains are inundating German autobahns and railways. Schools and kindergartens have been closed in some regions. Two people went missing. However, the German meteorologists note that the rains in Germany will go on and the situation will get worse.

Western and central parts of Austria suffer severe floods. A monthly level of precipitation has fallen there in a matter of several days. One person died and two more went missing. The disaster struck the most the area of Voralberg, the valleys of Tirol, Salzburg, as well as Upper Austria. Hundreds of people were evacuated from the inundated regions in Oberdorf, Kufstein, and Gmunden. Lower Austria and Vienna announced the increased state of readiness to flooding. The main task of the military is to remove the obstructions and clean the roads. Some parts of the commune of Pinzgau and Taxenbach were announced the disaster area.